Actually, I need to work on A LOT more things, and I’m frankly sick of having so many unfinished stories!! I have to work on them one at a time… have to do more –not only– concept arts and sketches but scripts and actual full summaries too. It won’t mean anything if I make a million ‘ideas’, and never get any out to publishers as actual, full stories, what does it all mean? What was that all for then?? Anyhow, just have to discipline myself better. XD
Hope you didn’t mind my brain-‘splosion. >_> (That’s essentially what it was… lol.)

I also just realized that I can’t ink (properly… with fun included, lol) digitally XD. I can color all right on it, but being so accurate on it makes… er… my hands and eyes hurt, lol. I just can’t get the same kind of technique as I can while drawing physically…. oh well. I really tried on that Karina pic XD. Well, I think it’s okay in increments or not-as-detailed pics, but yeah… that’s just me, though! 😮
(Though, it would save me so much paper if I could do it all digitally T_T lol, haha…)

This is Robin (top-left character). He is from the same story as Karina (who I drew before— on the bottom-right). Working on this story now… it’s getting longer than I thought, lol.

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You know, in submitting to companies and such (as opposed to only posting on the web or self-publishing), I’ve learned that it’s much harder (yet easier) to organize and draw out your comics.

Reasons Why It’s Harder: Because you have to abide by a pages in increments of eight (usually). If, once drawn out, your story is 35 pages, when you told them it’d be 40, well, you have to add those five pages in somewhere! If you’re two pages over, you have to take those two pages out somewhere! Therefore, it’s best to organize all of that stuff in the script-writing process– before you even fully flesh out your comic. Otherwise, I hope you like re-drawing, or taking out an awesome scene of dialogue because of a simple mistake or miscount! (This has happened to me before… and recently too, lol. So, that’s why I’m saying this.) I’ve learned the value of writing out stories in the ‘official’ comic book format of scriptwriting (where it lists pages and panel numbers). Makes it much easier in the long run. But I don’t know how efficient it is to do it initially, when you’re writing your first draft, etc… For me (for now), it’s easier to write everything out, and then figure out how many pages it will be BEFORE I submit it to any companies. Maybe it is not the most professional method, but as of right now, it’s what works for me.

Reasons Why It’s Easier: Having limitations can be incredibly inspiring, because being forced to work within boundaries causes your mind to explore all of the possibilities within those ‘boxes’ of creativity. For example, it is sometimes hard to decide on something if you have a million different choices to choose from. But, if you have about 10 (vs. a million), it’s much, much easier to decide. Also, the more solid of an idea that your world is in your mind, the easier it is to fathom stories and characters for it. Solidifying your world is what makes storytelling (in general) easiest for me. This could be the reason why fanfiction/fancomics can be much easier than original works sometime– because their worlds are already very “solid” in your mind about what can and cannot happen within them. This is the difference between a plan and a wish.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Also..)

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ~Hebrews 11:1

Movie writers and probs every other kind of writer has to work within the publisher’s limitations, too. However, if we have to edit, rewrite, and be able to work within such constraints, and STILL have a great story, well, that just means you’re a really great writer, regardless of the circumstances!

But, if you don’t fully believe in your world, how do you expect someone else to? It has to feel real to you– not just a fuzzy idea or a hypothetical situation. Give it real dimension, real emotion and real problems and solutions. In order for people to connect with your characters, they have to feel they are real (enough) to them, first. I’m still trying to do my best at doing this too; this is just something I wanted to say as a reminder for myself, as well. (After all, when we point the finger at someone, we are also pointing at ourselves, methinks.)

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In other random news:

Psalm 7:15 “Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.”